"Back In The Day": How The WWE Divas Can Benefit From The Past

Sankofa is an Akan term (from Ghana, West Africa) that when translated into English, means "go back and take." This particular term, or proverb, is often used by Africans and African-Americans to evoke feelings of remembering one's past in order to plot one's future. I believe someone else stated, "those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it." Sankofa means the same thing, but is not as ominous as the latter quote.

It is also interesting to note that WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston is now billed as being from Ghana, West Africa, his true country of origin.

In regards to the WWE's Diva's Division, it seems to me that someone in Creative should have a nice, off-the-record chat with Kofi in regards to the value of, and meaning behind, the Sankofa proverb. The idea behind such a radical conversation would be to investigate what worked for the women wrestlers in the past in order to make their presence more felt and valuable to wrestling fans in the future. This, of course, is assuming the WWE actually wants their women to wrestle...but that's another article for another day.

Some days ago, I submitted an article to Bleacher Report that discussed why I felt the recent WWE Diva Trade was one big mess. Although a good number of people agreed with my thoughts on the topic, not everyone shared those sentiments. This is a good thing; I must admit that while the trade was handled inappropriate for my liking, the idea of new Divas on the different shows is slightly titillating.

However, if WWE Creative continues to provide such lackluster material for these hard-working, dedicated, strong, intelligent, and sexy women, how long will it be before fans turn a blind eye and empty wallet to whatever the Divas try to do? In other words, if these women are not involved in feuds and rivalries that the fans can really get into and behind, then the Draft, or the Divas division itself, are pointless and a waste of air-time that could have been used towards another John Cena motivational speech.

To use a southern-style colloquialism, "you can paint a shack all day, but that don't make it a mansion." Or, here's a better example: I could have Melina in my living room wearing nothing but her Diva's Championship belt and a smile, but if I'm facing the wall with my eyes closed, what good is she to me? If the Diva's are around to be eye candy, then let them be eye candy. But why should the fans' intelligence be insulted by forcing them to watch eye candy trounce around the ring?

And that's my point; the Diva's are far more than just eye candy, and it's baffling how the WWE can be content with providing the Diva's with material that neither Santino Marella nor Fred Sanford would be able to salvage, especially since historically, the Women's Division has been very physical, acrobatic, and all around awesome.

Click here to see a match between Alundra Blayze and Bull Nakano from 1994. Make sure to pay close attention to the response of the crowd, and the maneuvers executed by both Blayze and Nakano. I want you to also pay attention to how Bull Nakano hits Alundra Blayze with her fist and not her elbow.

Next, click here to see Trish Stratus face Mickie James at Wrestlemania 23. Again, notice the crowd's reaction, as well as the athleticism of both women. Also, notice the boos from the crowd for Trish Stratus, who was the baby face going into this match.

Now, watch this video and shoot forward to the 2:31 mark, making sure you start counting at that point. It only lasted 21 seconds, trust me.

Alright, I'll admit that last video is not a great gauge of the face of Women's Wrestling in the WWE, but hopefully you get the gist of what I'm saying. It's not that the division is lacking talent, but it's lacking creative writing, time, and effort. No matter how many draft trades you make, they won't amount to a hill of beans if you keep feeding the fans the same old, tired product. Just because Coca-Cola comes in a new bottle doesn't mean the formula has changed.

So perhaps a chat with Kofi Kingston could encourage the WWE to have a Sankofa momwnr, looking through their vast and enormous library to see what made their women's division so special and spectacular. If they were to do so, then perhaps this draft that took place would have meant more to the fans, and meant more to the importance of the Diva's Championship.